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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  17. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. present — the time now
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. march — the month
  4. foot — a measure
  5. clip — for paper
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. march — music
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. lean — thin
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. lean — to bend
  13. march — the month
  14. present — there
  15. clip — to cut
  16. foot — part of the body
  17. foot — the bottom
  18. clip — a video
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. present — a gift
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com